Felton Road Wines

During my recent visit with the family to Felton Road Winery, I was thoroughly impressed by the exceptional hospitality and world-class wines. From the moment we arrived, they made us feel welcome and were so kind to let us join the tasting while we were quite late on arrival. The highlight of the visit was, of course, the wines. Their Pinot Noir was nothing short of spectacular—perfectly balanced with rich, complex flavors that showcased the skill and care behind their winemaking process. The Chardonnay was equally impressive, with its crisp, elegant profile and hints of oak that made each sip delightful. Both wines truly captured the essence of the Bannockburn region and were a testament to the winery’s dedication to quality. The setting of the winery was picturesque, also the tasting room providing the perfect backdrop to enjoy their offerings.

Representing world's famous central otago's wine. This place has class and the wines here are top quality. Love the beautiful four Elm trees at the cellar door.

Nice informative tour (must book), lovely guided tasting, nice views and very high quality wines. We liked the winery's dedication to sustainability and not wanting to grow too much. Loved the chardonnay, found it to be quite a unique style and well done at that. Also liked the Calvert Pinot and bought it to age.

Best tour and tasting we had in New Zealand. You must make an appointment. Do it. And then ship a case of wine home like we did.

This is a stunningly great winery! You will not be disappointed. They offer free, seated tastings and tours. They are a biodynamic vineyard and winery, and make incredible wines they are passionate about. This is one of the best wineries in New Zealand and have some of the best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Had an amazing time at the tour. Rose was a wonderful host; she walked us through the facilities, visited the cellars and the library, and curated the tastings of wonderful pinots. I can see why Felton Road was picked #1 vineyard of NZ 2024.

Great experience. You must book but it is because they do a personalised tour of the winery and cellars. This is followed by a wine tasting. Fortunately for them but unfortunately for us their wine is so good much of it sells out very quickly. In the case of their best 2 wines they are sold out in 5 weeks. This winery embraces a biodinamic farming model. Planting between their vines to attract friendly bugs and deter pests. They have mountain goats to eat pest plants and provide natural fertilizer. Additionally they have solar panels to provide for all their electricity needs. Felton Road winery live and breath sustainable business practices. Refusing to overgrow their business so they are able to maintain complete control of all aspects of their winemaking. Hats off to you for producing one of the best NZ wines and at the same time maintaining environmental sustainable farming practices.

Loved our wine tasting here. It is seated and they talk you through all the wines so it is nicely paced and you can tell how passionate they are about their wines. Couple of things we found a wee bit odd was that one wine we tried you couldn’t buy and another wine you could buy but you couldn’t try. Still enjoyed it anyway and the sad thing was that we did buy one bottle of the 2020 Chardonnay (which we couldn’t try) and opened it last night and loved it but now you can’t buy it anywhere. Will need to wait for the next vintage.

We enjoyed the sweeping views during our tasting at Mt. Difficulty in 2019. The winery itself is perched on a ridge that offers beautiful sight lines to Lake Dunstan and the surrounding mountains, and we enjoyed relaxing and taking it all in on their patio. Honestly, the views alone were worth the $2 NZD tasting fee (based on their website, it looks like that fee may have been raised since our visit). They also poured plenty of wine to cover that fee. The wine itself was forgettable. There was a drinkable Chardonnay, and it helped us enjoy the views, but that's about it. The staff was pleasant, and although the cellar door got quite crowded by the time we departed, the facility was big enough to handle the scrum rather well. I'm rating this at a generous four for two reasons: (1) we enjoyed our visit, and honestly we enjoy tasting and talking about wine whether the juice is distinguished or not. (2) We didn't eat in their restaurant. The menu looked enticing, and I'll grant that this could have significantly elevated our good experience. If you're passing through on Highway 6, Mt. Difficulty is worth a stop on a sunny day.

Our second winery (of three) was at Mt. Difficulty after our server at another winery recommended we check this place out in Bannockburn. It's a very popular spot! We dropped in on a Tuesday (around noon) and it was busy. The restaurant (only open at lunch) was completely full so make sure you make reservations if you want to eat here. Your tastings get comped if you dine in otherwise it's only $2.00 NZD/person. You get 5 wine tastings (four regular wines plus one of your choice from the entire list). Our server, Nicki, was chatty and outgoing. We found out Bannockburn is known for their pinot noirs. - Roaring Meg central otago pinot noir 2014 - not as good as the second pinot noir. - Mt Difficulty Bannockburn pinot noir 2016 - this is their bread and butter winner. Very smooth and apparently goes great with Thai green curry. - Mt Difficulty Bannockburn sauvignon blanc 2016 - not as good as the ones we had in the Marlborough region. - Mt Difficulty Bannockburn target riesling 2016 - unmemorable. It was a medium sweet style. - Mt Difficulty long gully chenin blanc 2017 - this was delicious. It smells like guava and had a smooth, tropical citrus flavour to it. We considered getting a bottle ($30.00 NZD) but had too many already. - Roaring Meg Central Otago pinot noir rosé 2017 - this one was decent but it pales in comparison to the chenin blanc. Try/buy the chenin blanc! Another cool winery with a solid wine tasting.

There are many fun winery + lunch experiences and I have been to most of them, Mt. Difficulty is my favorite though. The combination of location, wine and food (in that order) cant be beat. You need a reservation but the views are worth it and Swing by Felton Road a couple doors down while you are here.

We had a great tour and tasting. You cannot beat these Central Otago Pinot Noirs and the rosé and Dry Riesling are really great as well. You HAVE to eat lunch here. Reservations required! I had the venison dish with truffle polenta and it has been hands down my best meal on our two week trip. My husband ordered the duck which was equally delicious. Definitely worth the planning to add this to your itinerary.

For lunch, you MUST have a reservation, and can not pop in. It is completely worth the effort. Your tasting is free with a meal and the food was delicious. DH enjoyed the fish special and I enjoyed their delicious cheese board. Left with a couple of bottles as souvenirs. If you can't make a reservation for lunch, the $2 tasting fee is worth it!